Not connecting to WiFi

[TycoonCoder]

Hi! I love this project idea. I’ve been working to set it up, and I managed to flash my esp32 dev module. When I connect to it, I input everything including the WiFi password and ssid, and then I finish it and it said the whole thing about the AP, but does not move on from there and eventually disconnects. I was trying to get it on zpool. When I unplug it and reconnect, everything is saved but it says it couldn’t find my WiFi address. I’ve looked and it never shows up on zpool.

[SneezeGUI]

Thanks for trying SparkMiner! However, there are a couple of issues with your setup:

1. Pool Compatibility:
SparkMiner is designed for solo mining pools only:

• public-pool.io (default)
• solo.ckpool.org (backup)

zpool.ca is a merged mining pool that uses different Stratum protocol extensions and authentication. It's not compatible with SparkMiner's solo mining implementation.

2. WiFi Troubleshooting:
If "couldn't find my WiFi address" appears:

• Ensure your WiFi is 2.4GHz (ESP32 doesn't support 5GHz)
• Avoid special characters in SSID/password
• Check the network isn't set to "hidden"

To configure:

1. Connect to the "SparkMiner" AP
2. Navigate to 192.168.4.1 in your browser
3. Enter your WiFi credentials
4. Use public-pool.io port 21496 as the pool
5. Enter your Bitcoin wallet address

For solo mining, you'll see your miner on https://web.public-pool.io after connecting.

[SneezeGUI]

A few things to check for WiFi connection issues:

1. WiFi SSID is case-sensitive — make sure it matches exactly (including spaces). Some routers broadcast a 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz network with slightly different names. ESP32 only supports 2.4 GHz WiFi.

2. Special characters in password — if your WiFi password contains special characters like &, <, >, they may get URL-encoded by the config portal. Try a simpler password temporarily to test.

3. Check serial monitor output — connect via USB and open a serial monitor at 115200 baud. It will show exactly what's happening:

   • WiFi connection attempts and errors
   • Pool connection status
   • Any error messages

4. Update to v2.9.5 — the latest release includes WiFi stability improvements:

   • WiFi sleep mode disabled for more reliable connections
   • Better reconnection with reduced backoff (15s max)
   • WiFi event logging for diagnostics

5. Pool URL format — for zpool, the stratum URL should be something like stratum.na.mine.zpool.ca (not a web URL). Make sure port matches the algorithm (e.g., port 3333 for SHA-256d).

If you can share the serial monitor output, that would help diagnose the specific issue.

[TycoonCoder]

Thanks for the response. The WiFi is working, but are you saying it now supports zpool? Because earlier you said it does not. Thanks so much!